The Plumbline

Rich:  Abundantly supplied with resources; of great value or worth.  Every now and again, I run across someone who will share a great desire to win the lottery.  They live with this eternal hope of being "rich" - thinking all their worries in life will somehow melt away when their "ship comes in".  The weekly purchase of those tiny tickets is what keeps them going.  As the jackpot grows, so do their dreams.  In fact, if you listen closely, they "plan" the expenditure of the massive funds as though they might actually win.  If you read the fine print on the lottery site or ticket, the "odds" of winning are something like 1 in 175 million!  Now, if I were to hold out for those kind of odds, I think I would live quite an impoverished life! God ’s blessing makes life rich;  nothing we do can improve on God.  (Proverbs 10:22 MSG) There are times in life when we get the idea of "blessing" all confused with what our bank account reflects, ...

What makes something "stand out" to you?  If I use BOLD  font in my post, I am doing so because I want those particular words to "stand out".  If I were to parade down the sidewalk wearing all black, emblazoned with all kinds of chains and tattoos  would you think I might be trying to "stand out" a little from the gal or guy next to me?  When a company wants to gain the market share of business, they spend a whole lot of money on trying to find the "brand" which will make them "stand out" as the one to trust.  The purpose of "standing out" is usually to call attention to, think of first and foremost, be the "go to" in your life.  Jesus tells his disciples something entirely different about being the "go to" in life - "standing out" really being a result of "stepping down".  Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out ...

We have come to think of graffiti as a pretty negative word associated with all manner of words, artwork, and the like just haphazardly placed on walls, bathroom stalls, and almost any inanimate object which stands long enough for the "artist" to gain access.  In looking up the origin of this word, I found it means any type of "inscription" which is written upon an object.  In the psalms, David repeatedly talks about the power of the Word of God "inscribed" on his heart.  In giving the Law to the people of Israel, Moses spoke of binding them upon their hands and foreheads, as well as inscribing them on the doorposts of their houses.  This idea of "inscribing" has been around for a long time, but it has taken on a different meaning with the evolution of "graffiti" becoming an "eye-sore" these days.  In the most literal sense, anything which is "inscribed" by God is something worth remembering!   I call to you, God, ...